It all started with one torch. Today, Dara Alper and Morgan Mattern's Molten Makerspace is a creative hub in High Point where you can blow glass, try laser engraving, join a game night, and shop work from local artists. But their vision goes beyond making: they're helping artists turn their talents into real careers and working toward a modern-day trade school for High Point's creative workforce.

To read this story, visit: https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/

To learn more about Molten Makerspace, visit: https://themoltenmakerspace.com/

About High Point Discovered:

High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. To discover more stories about High Point, visit https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/

Each High Point Discovered story is made possible and accessible through our community like you. We’d love for you to partner with us in this work by donating at https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/

Life doesn't slow down often — but Karen Curren has built a High Point space where it can.

Since 2002, Helpful Hands Massage has been helping our neighbors manage stress, recover from injury, and feel a little more like themselves again — one full hour at a time (no rushing you out the door here!). From prenatal massage to Thai massage, to medical massage, Karen's philosophy is simple: massage isn't a luxury; it's a necessity.

To read this story, visit: https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/

To learn more about Helpful Hands Massage, visit: https://helpfulhandsmassage.com/

About High Point Discovered:

High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. To discover more stories about High Point, visit https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/

Each High Point Discovered story is made possible and accessible through our community like you. We’d love for you to partner with us in this work by donating at thttps://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/

High Point Public Library's new Sensory Garden officially opened last spring — a 7,000-square-foot accessible space designed to serve visitors of all ages and abilities, from children with autism to memory care patients. The idea began with former Children's Services Manager Jim Zola, and came to life through a $100,000 signature gift from the Rotary Club of High Point, part of the club's 2020 centennial project. Along the way, the team faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, but this community never let go of the vision, and now, we all get to benefit!

To read this story, visit: https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/

To learn more about the Sensory Garden, visit: https://www.highpointnc.gov/2729/Rotary-Club-of-High-Point-Sensory-Garden

About High Point Discovered:

High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. To discover more stories about High Point, visit https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/

Each High Point Discovered story is made possible and accessible through our community like you. We’d love for you to partner with us in this work by donating at thttps://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/

What does it take to build a creative economy in a mid-sized city? Sometimes, it starts with one teacher deciding the gap she kept seeing was hers to fill.

Page Gleeson, a longtime High Point art educator, spent years watching talented local artists drive to Winston-Salem or Greensboro just to find studio space or a place to show their work. Interior designers and showrooms weren't looking at local art — not because it wasn't good, but because there was nowhere for them to see it.

So Page went through the Artful Business Cohort with the High Point Arts Council, earned her LLC, and opened Studio 136: a hybrid gallery and working studio space that now houses four in-house artists, each with a dedicated room to create and exhibit.

It's a model built on a simple belief: art doesn't have to be competitive to be sustainable. Artists supporting artists — sharing space, technique, and visibility — is what builds a creative economy that can actually hold a city's talent instead of losing it to bigger markets.

Studio 136 is one more example of High Point's creative and small business community investing in the infrastructure that keeps local talent local.

To read this story, visit: https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/

To learn more about Studio 136, visit: https://www.studio136gallery.com/

This story is brought to you by TowneBank. To learn more about TowneBank, visit: https://www.townebank.com/

About High Point Discovered:

High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. To discover more stories about High Point, visit https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/

Each High Point Discovered story is made possible and accessible through our community like you. We’d love for you to partner with us in this work by donating at thttps://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/

For 26 years, Dawn's Cafe on Baker Road has opened its doors at 4 A.M. to serve High Point's early risers — police officers, firefighters, city workers, and news anchors starting their day before the sun comes up. Her legacy is a reminder that longevity in small business isn't just about the food — it's about the relationships!

To read this story, visit: https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/

To learn more about Dawn's Cafe, visit: https://www.facebook.com/dawnscafehpnc/

About High Point Discovered:

High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. To discover more stories about High Point, visit https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/

Each High Point Discovered story is made possible and accessible through our community like you. We’d love for you to partner with us in this work by donating at thttps://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/

For Lyndsey Ayers, High Point has always been home. As a proud T. W. Andrews High School graduate, Lyndsey has fond memories of her years growing up in High Point. From cheering the Red Raiders onto a 2003 basketball championship victory, to attending the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Lyndsey never had the urge to venture far from the Triad.

"The trend for all of our friends at that time was, 'Let's get out of High Point,'" she says, recalling classmates and friends who wanted to spread their wings and fly. But for Lyndsey, one distinct aspect of High Point caught her interest and gave her a new curiosity about her hometown.

"In 2005, when Dr. Qubein came, he was blazing a trail," she says. High Point University, under Dr. Nido Qubein's leadership, was in a pivotal and pioneering phase. Dr. Qubein's appointment to the role of president at the university ushered in a new era of growth for HPU and ultimately the city of High Point itself.

To read this story, visit: https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/

To learn more about HPU's Community Events, visit: https://www.highpoint.edu/community/engagement/

About High Point Discovered:

High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. To discover more stories about High Point, visit https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/

Each High Point Discovered story is made possible and accessible through our community like you. We’d love for you to partner with us in this work by donating at thttps://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/

Meet Chase & Leah Hazelwood — the power couple behind the "Go-Forth Galaxy."

It started with two lifeguards in 2002, both determined, both driven, both dreaming of a life they'd build on their own terms. Today, Chase leads Go-Forth Home Services (Go-Forth — pest control turned home services empire), and Leah runs Go Forth Marketing, the storytelling agency helping businesses find their voice.

But the real story isn't just the businesses — it's the "why." Four kids. A shared belief that hard work and heart can go hand in hand. And a mission to pour back into High Point through CCFC Academy, Carolina Core Professional Center, and support for women's health and small business growth across our city.

To read this story, visit: https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/

To learn more about Go-Forth Home Services, visit: https://www.go-forth.com/

To learn more about Go Forth Marketing, visit: https://goforthmarketing.com/

About High Point Discovered:

High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth.

To discover more stories about High Point, visit https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/

Each High Point Discovered story is made possible and accessible through our community like you. We’d love for you to partner with us in this work by donating at thttps://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/

When life hands you a pandemic two days after your grand opening... you build an ice cream cart and bring the joy to people's front yards!

That's exactly what Rana Arafa and her husband did in 2020 when Miso's Ice Cream had to shut its doors just 48 hours after opening. Instead of waiting it out, they hit the neighborhoods — masks on, sanitizer ready — and turned a crisis into a story of family, friendship, neighbors, and smiles.

To read this story, visit: https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/

To learn more about Miso's Ice Cream, visit: https://www.misosicecream.com/

About High Point Discovered:

High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. To discover more stories about High Point, visit https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/

This story brought to you by TowneBank. To learn more about TowneBank, visit:

https://www.townebank.com/campaigns/regional-pages/townebank-greensboro/?utm_source=highpointdiscovered&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=featured+small+business&utm_id=sponsorship

Each High Point Discovered story is made possible and accessible through our community like you. We’d love for you to partner with us in this work by donating at thttps://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/